The present invention is in the technical field of agriculture. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical fields of aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics in a symbiotic environment. Aquaponic systems use the ammonia rich waste supplied by fish as fertilizer by using pumps to deposit it into grow beds for plants. Plants and natural organisms in the grow beds convert the ammonia rich waste from the fish into nitrites then nitrates, which the plants use as fertilizer. The plant roots also help filter other substances from the water. Water from the grow beds is returned to the fish tank. The water filtered by the grow beds also contains other nutrients beneficial for the fish.
The ability to sustain vegetation in small areas, such as urban backyards and even indoors, has great appeal to those that lack the space but have the desire to grow their own flowers and vegetables without a great deal of maintenance. Various systems are described for vertical and modular farming, aquaponics and hydroponics, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,578,651, 8,181,391, 7,861,459, 5,031,359, and 5,826,375. However, these systems are not enclosed or utilize multiple reservoirs for plant growth, thus limiting the amount of plant growth the system can sustain and locational versatility: they may not be desirable for indoor settings.
The commercially available “Aquafarm”, available for online and in-store purchases at commercial establishments such as Petco and Nordstrom, is small, incorporates segregated “pots” for growing plants, and the tube that is used for the air pump is exposed to the fish.
The aquaponic system described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,640 uses a mechanical filter to absorb suspended particles from the water from the aquaculture unit, and a cold trap that is used to condense and collect water from the air in the hydroponic unit (planting bed). Drawbacks of this type of system are the complexity of the mechanics of it, and it is not aesthetically pleasing.
Similarly, the aquaponics system described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,875 is complex, utilizing separate fish-rearing tanks, sedimentation tanks and netting tanks for removing solids from the water from the fish tanks, and a degasifier, for removing volatile organic compounds from the water, and also requiring the addition of chemicals to maintain adequate system pH values.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20130047508 describes yet another aquaponic system which uses individual “containers” for the plants, but this type of system inhibits the growth potential for the plants as well as the ability to grow a greater variety of plants in one system. Smaller and/or segregated containers do not promote dense planting of multiple varieties of plants and/or flowers and may inhibit the growth of certain types of varietals that require greater root space or are root vegetables. Smaller ‘cups’ and planting beds that are limited by space without proper flushing of the media may also “choke” the plant roots with the waste from the water that cannot be removed from the growth media.
Thus there is a need in the industry for a highly efficient, low maintenance system and method for plant growth that is enclosed, aesthetically pleasing and also space conscious yet improves both the quantity and variety of sustainable vegetation.